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This year will be Faye Phipps’ fourth year running, opening her garden up throughout the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival.
There’s not much that slows Faye Phipps down. Even breaking her back and being informed by
a surgeon she wouldn’t continue farming or gardening only triggered a small pause in her busy life.
She’s a salt of the earth genuine great individual who’s passionate about life, her household and her garden. Faye runs the Lepperton beef farm that she shows partner Ivan, who these days drives trucks not a lot tractors, and she also cares for her brood of grandchildren who all live close-by.
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Phipps has been getting her garden in good shape for weeks, ready to welcome visitors during the celebration.
” Our kids all live local but it wasn’t constantly that method. They went off, some abroad or to other parts of New Zealand, but they are back now with their own children, we’re fortunate to have them all so near,” stated Faye.
“We have 15 grandchildren and I looked after them all when they were little so they didn’t need to go to day care. Christmas is huge with around 25 of us and that’s what household has to do with,
sharing that time together.” This girl is up at 5.30 am each day and is on the go from there. She’s been preparing these previous weeks glossing her garden up for the Taranaki Fringe Garden
Festival for her fourth year running.ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff The fairies are a quirky function of the garden.
It’s a rambling country garden that gets a tiny bit bigger each year. It’s a profusion of flowers and enjoyable. There’s a play area for the kids, a dripping creek which topples through the secret garden Faye has developed, with eccentric features of little fairies, or crazy wooden fishermen all concealed around the garden.
But there are also places to sit, to contemplate and take in the surrounds.” When we came here, 31 years back, the fence was practically right up versus your home so we ripped that out and made the lawn and garden beds. Our youngest was six months old and we were milking and attempting to get established, we didn’t have time to do much gardening.
” I simply like it but it was a real challenge then to get the time I wished to spend in it, breaking in brand-new groundand attempting to establish it.”ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff There’s even a little stream running through the garden.
Those early days were hectic, sharemilking a jersey herd and with 5 kids to raise. “We headed out of cows about 10 years back, and just run beef. I run the farm a lot myself now as Ivan likes to drive trucks – big freight trucks and he goes all over the country. He was driving trucks even when we were milking too but not as typically then. It’s his thing and he likes it.”
Faye was a nurse prior to she and Ivan wed, starting her working life at the Waitara Maternity House prior to going on to train at Taranaki Base Health Center.
“I like assisting and looking after people. I started having wedding events in the garden when I heard of a young couple that couldn’t afford a wedding so I arranged one for them in our garden. We have had a great deal of wedding events here now, including 3 of our children, even converting the big barn into a reception area with fairy lights lining the roofing,” said Faye.ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff A play area for her grandchildren add an unique touch. Her garden is an unique location, to
those who have been and for those who will come for wedding events and other celebrations. Faye has actually committed flower beds to those passed, like her mother Joan, a devoted garden enthusiast of Stratford.
“One of the last things Mum stated to me prior to she passed away was,’please put your garden in the celebration’.”So here I am and I’m caring opening our garden so others can enjoy it too.”-The short article is a collaboration in between the Taranaki Daily News and the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival.